Marc Hogan

June 10, 2014 –
The best part of waking up is a new J Mascis song on your music listening device. The Dinosaur Jr. frontman has shared "Every Morning," a dewy strummer that applies his searing lead guitar work and familiar vocal presence to bittersweet lyrics recounting daily a.m. struggles. The track precedes Mascis' new album, Tied to a Star, which is due out in the United States on August 26 via Sub Pop. The self-produced album features Cat Power, Mark Mulcahy, Black Heart Procession's Pall Jenkins, and Young@Heart Chorus' Ken Maiuri. It follows 2011's Several Shades of Why. If Mascis' mornings are tough, maybe it's because he spent a week on Late Night With Seth Meyers.Listen to "Every Morning" below, and scroll down for the track list and a playful album trailer video, plus tour dates.Tied to a Star track list:1. "Me Again"2. "Every Morning"3. "Heal the Star"4. "Wide Awake"5.

June 10, 2014 –
Nicki Minaj has the rap game in the palm of her hands. Correction: Nicki Minaj has rapper the Game in the palm of her hands. Specifically, his head. More specifically, it isn't attached to his body. The video for "Pills N Potions," a drug-themed love ballad from an upcoming Minaj album called The Pink Print, splits screen time between the former American Idol judge herself and the Compton-repping "Hate It or Love It" rapper, whose last album was 2012's clunky Jesus Piece. Aside from grasping the Game's disembodied noggin, Minaj wears rabbit ears and cries metallic tears. There is an actual rabbit for some reason. As Minaj preps the follow-up to her own 2012 album, the singularly multi-faceted Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded, it's all ridiculous enough to leave you wondering what she might pull out of her hat next. He's the Game; she's game for whatever.

June 10, 2014 –
Familiarity has been said to breed contempt, but it can also build rapport, and that was on full display last night between Jack White and Jimmy Fallon. Just last month, the former White Stripes leader and current Third Man Records boss was on Fallon's Tonight Show to press instant vinyl with Neil Young. The two have known each other since the White Stripes played Saturday Night Live while Fallon was a cast member. Those recent and, sheesh, dozen-year-old ties showed during White's latest Tonight interview segment.

June 9, 2014 –
Spoon-feeding is taking on a new meaning. The Austin, Texas indie-rock icons have been hinting at something for tomorrow (June 10) with the words "R.I.P.," and last week they announced the follow-up to 2010's Transference will be out August 5 via Loma Vista and titled They Want My Soul. The Britt Daniel-fronted band, not to be confused with his recent Divine Fits project, debuted a new song that's being called "Rainy Taxi" earlier this month at Primavera Sound, and they performed another one over the weekend at New York's Governors Ball; watch fan footage of the door-rattling "Knock Knock Knock" below, via Stereogum. Spoon were set to debut another new song today in a webcast live from New York's Le Poisson Rouge, with a 1:30 p.m. EDT start. Watch that over at NPR, which, if you're an anagram fan, almost works for "R.I.P."

June 9, 2014 –
In 2012, Paul Lamere of a music-technology company called The Echo Nest introduced "Infinite Gangnam Style," which allowed Web users to listen to a never-ending, constantly shifting version of PSY's 2-billion-view YouTube hit. Since then, The Echo Nest — now owned by Spotify — has drawn attention for posting a series of maps (among them: each state's most distinctive music, each state's most popular music, and each state's most neglected music).In the meantime, though, Lamere and the Echo Nest also came up with "The Infinite Jukebox," which allows you to upload your own MP3 and melt your mind as it plays on forever, or as long as you can stand it. The Echo Nest explains: "For when your favorite song just isn't long enough. This web app lets you upload a favorite MP3 and will then generate a never-ending and ever-changing version of the song.

June 9, 2014 –
One traditional cure for the lingering effects of celebrating too much is the "hair of the dog." PSY, being PSY, has instead gone with Snoop Dogg. After the festive occasion of the South Korean YouTube sensation's "Gangnam Style" reaching 2 billion (that's "billion," with a "b") views, a new clip shows PSY and the West Coast hip-hop legend shaking off their headaches to a track called, well, "Hangover."The video peaks early, with the "Gentleman" gentleman puking and then brushing his teeth alongside the rapper briefly known as Snoop Lion. From there, we see the array of dizzying visuals you'd expect from PSY, with ridiculous amounts of alcohol being consumed en route to a PSY-Snoop karaoke performance.

June 9, 2014 –
Patrick Wilson wins the "good hands" award for the weekend, and not just for his musicianship. As Stereogum points out, the Weezer drummer caught a Frisbee during a performance of "Beverly Hills" on Friday night in St. Augustine, Florida, and he managed to transfer it to his mouth without, as they say, missing a beat. Frontman Rivers Cuomo, on hearing the audience cheer, was clearly enjoying the moment.If only Frisbee weren't a trademark of the Wham-O corporation, maybe that could be the name of Weezer's next album — "flying disc" just doesn't have the same ring, does it? Watch fan video of Wilson's cat-like — er, since it's a Frisbee, should that be "dog-like"? — reflexes below, and scroll down for Weezer's "drum cam" footage. We don't yet know Wilson's merits at disc golf, but we can safely say that that, friends, is the ultimate Frisbee.

June 9, 2014 –
Death Grips season has begun. In January, drummer Zach Hill (one of SPIN's 100 Greatest Drummers of Alternative Music) wrote on Facebook that the Sacramento noise-rap experimentalists had started recording a new album. In July, Death Grips will head out on tour with the alternative-rock double whammy of Nine Inch Nails and Soundgarden.Last night, with no advance notice, Death Grips shared a new album called niggas on the moon via Facebook. According to the band, the set features Björk on all eight songs, and it's the first half of an impending double album titled the powers that b (the other half will be called jenny death). The full release is due out later this year on Harvest/Third Worlds Records. Update: The Icelandic singer has confirmed her vocals are on the album.the powers that b follows 2013's Government Plates.

June 6, 2014 –
Merge Records has taken its 25th-anniversary celebrations out to the ballgame. Last night was Merge Records Night for the venerable North Carolina indie label's hometown minor-league baseball team, the Tampa Bay Rays Triple-A affiliate Durham Bulls. Merge co-founder and Superchunk frontman Mac McCaughan threw out the first pitch, Mount Moriah's Heather McEntire sang the national anthem, and the Bulls players' walk-up music was a Merge-oriented playlist picked by the label."Bounced it..." McCaughan tweeted. "Looks like I'm not getting called up after all." That's him after the pitch above, and before below. To see a photo of McEntire singing "The Star-Spangled Banner," just click here.

June 6, 2014 –
Kim Deal rejoining the Pixies wouldn't be out of the question, at least as far as the remaining band members are concerned. It has been almost a year since the pioneering alternative-rock band announced the departure of their founding bassist and singer, who was then on tour with her other iconic group, the Breeders. In a new interview with NME, Pixies guitarist Joe Santiago and drummer David Lovering said the ball is in Deal's court."When Kim left, we wished her well, and we also said she's welcome back any time," Lovering explained. "I have no idea if she will or not. I guess if she did right now, it would be a little tough situation to be in, because we're so happy with Paz [Lenchantin, the current touring bassist]. But it's open, the door's here, we have a lot of goodwill."The Pixies recently released their first album in 23 years, Indie Cindy.